I'm using a low dosage of liquid baytril and one or two drops of vanilla in their waters, but they aren't drinking the water much at all compared to what they use to. My question is if the baytril has been open for months is it still ok to use or is it the vanilla that is turning them off? Vanilla is a new thing that I read helps with the smell. It is pure vanilla not imitation.Thank youRegina

I probably wouldn't use the vanilla while you are medicating them. I know alcohol and human antibiotics don't mix well, especially certain classes of antibiotics. I would imagine it's the same in animals.

Thank you that is good to know! I'm still unsure about the antibiotic, I don't know if its ok to use after being opened for so long, not sure how that works, I'm going to try calling the company later today.

How long have you had it open? As long as you haven't already diluted it or polluted it, or exposed it to temperatures outside of the recommended storage requirements, the antibiotic will have a decent shelf life, even after opening. Once you dilute it (i.e. put it in water bottles or put it in a suspension for direct oral dosing), it loses its potentcy steadily. And of course if you introduce foreign matter into the bottle, it can likewise effect its potentcy. I clean and air dry my syringe with rubbing alcohol before I put it in the bottle again. If you have a steady hand, you can also pour what you need into the cap and then load your syringe from there, discarding what you don't use so as not to contaminate the main bottle of antibiotic.

I'm not sure exactly how long its been open but I know its been months. I use a syringe and wipe it on a wash cloth and then cap it, I didn't think to use the rubbing alcohol, that is a good idea. I'm broke this month or I'd just order a new one, that's what I did in the past. Have had bad luck with my car 4 months in a row and it needs fixed again next month lol, think i'm going to rack up my school loan a bit more to get a more reliable car this coming fall! Hopefully the baytril is ok for now since that's what I have to use to make do.

There's a company out there that sells antibiotic pellets for mice. They are basically food pellets that are medicated for easier dosing, and apparently it's better accepted into the body when it's ingested in food, rather than in water. The shelf life is also longer than the liquid version, substantially.

I think it's like $30 per lb, which sounds like a lot, but when you consider how many pellets there are in an lb, and how often you'll have to use it, it's not that bad.

looking at the page again..... The shelf life of the doxy food is only 6 months....that's waaaay shorter than that of the liquid baytril. the concentration is 200 mg/kg of food...which isn't very much...I imagine with a fairly small amount it wouldn't last very long...plus doxy isn't as effective as baytril. The baytril tablets are intriguing....but again very expensive and would really not go far...assuming you would do the same course of treatment as liquid baytril...you'd have each mouse on it for at least 10 days.....figure the average adult moderate typed mouse is probably at least 30 g that's a tab and a half per day...times 10 days is 45 tabs just for one mouse for one course of treatment.

Thank you everyone. We didn't seem to have trouble in the past with the baytril in the water but this time they seem to not be drinking it much, if it doesn't change the next day or so I'm going to have to stop the baytril. They are drinking but very little compared to how much they did. I haven't seen any sick mice but still wanted to treat for a short time just in case. Next month I'm going to go ahead and order the vitamin vionate to add to their food as a boost. I'm just short cash this month due to car issues or I'd just order a new one, I'm going to order a new one next month though (new baytril bottle).

I use injectable baytril (enrofloxacin) and I have had my bottle for two years now and it expires in Oct this year. The liquid baytril I do believe lasts about a year or so. I will check at work. We order big bottles for the hospital. I can check on Monday night. I took off tonight for a family thing.

I love the inject able stuff when I can get my hands on it.My vet gave me tons of free syringes too. They get them returned for vet credit (un-opened boxes of alergy shot needles)from patients. So they give them out free when you ask nicely.

I probably have a hundred, they're tiny like insulin syringes. Works great on small animals.

I'm not comfortable with using needles with pets, I have taken some vet assistant courses in the past but never pursued the career due to low wage. Thank you for the ideas though! If I had to ever, a vet I'm friends with has offered to do inject-able meds, lol.